Bay Hideaway Read Free Page A

ability to swim. Oddly, he didn’t know. He should have known, but the subject never came up and they’d never been in a pool deeper than three feet. Couples in love weren’t interested in swimming laps.
    Rescue teams dredged the Susquehanna River for two days.
    “I’m sorry,” the sergeant had said to Nathan. “We’ve not been able to find your wife.”
    Reliving those words still caused his chest to burn. The police presumed Judi’s body would eventually surface. It never did!
    But Judi’s presence didn’t feel lost. Wouldn’t he know if she were dead—wouldn’t he sense it? Family and friends assured him the reaction was natural, especially since there was no physical evidence to touch and hold. Healing would come, they promised.
    It wasn’t until months later when he went through her jewelry that he discovered the missing heirloom brooch. The multistoned ruby pin had been one of Judi’s most cherished belongings—besides her 1972 sunflower-yellow Volkswagen Beetle. How they’d argued over that car and the high cost of maintenance the old rattletrap generated. When faced with her death, though, the arguments suddenly proved to be frivolous and stupid. Unable to part with this close link to her life, the car remained unmoved in his garage.
    A seed of doubt, however, was planted the day he realized the missing jewelry piece was nowhere to be found. Riddled with suspicion, Nathan eventually asked his trusted aide to make a search. Nathan had to find closure and smother these uncertainties.
    Instead, his fears became real!
    Nathan glanced up at the rooster clock in the kitchen. Ten forty-five! Time to go. If Thomas was correct, Judi would be arriving at Bette’s Bakery in twenty minutes. Pulling the keys from his dress pants, he smoothed his tie and gave one last look around the room before opening the door. Sun spilled into the doorway and he casually slipped on his sunglasses. He was determined not to give in to the dread streaming through his body.
    The drive was short to the lakeside shops called Levitte’s Landing. Tourists were crawling all over the place, and Nathan found it difficult to find a parking space.
    “Plenty of time!” he said aloud, pulling the small car into a tight end spot toward the back of the lot.
    Quickly, he made his way up the long aisle, his leather shoes scratching across the hot pavement. Finally, he reached the concrete walkway. Bette’s Bakery was straight ahead. One shaded bench beckoned as the perfect perch from which to watch. Nathan slowed his pace and sat down, pinching up the pleats of his pants as he did so. Leisurely, he rested his back against the painted wood and waited.
    Several customers entered the bakery, and he almost missed the lady in the bright pink flared skirt and white silky blouse. Her smooth strawberry hair bounced as she walked briskly by the retail shops and headed for the bakery. Nathan leaned forward.
    He was tempted to remove his glasses but dropped his hand when he realized she was looking his way, her own hand trying to block the bright sun in her eyes. For a moment she hesitated and seemed to take notice of him, but eventually turned away.
    Nathan’s heart began to pound with full force. It was her! The squeezing sensation in his chest made it hard to breathe. He let his eyelids close tightly for a second and quickly snapped them open again. When he looked up, the door to the bakery was closing behind her and the pink of her skirt vanished inside.
    Several minutes passed and he wondered if time ever crawled as slowly as it did now. Then she reappeared, once again looking his way. He stood quietly and smoothly slid his sunglasses off in one fluid motion.
    The eyes of his wife suddenly locked with his.
    “Long time, no see,” he remarked with impressive airiness. His head tilted defiantly. “Surprise, darlin’!”

two
    Judi Rydell tensed and immediately felt her hackles rise when she spotted the well-dressed man sitting on the bench